Self-locking metal awning assembly



Y 5, 1958 J. D. WEIEKS SELF-LOCKING METAL AWNING ASSEMBLY Filed April 29, 1955 m M M w United States Patent SELF-LOCKING METAL AWNING ASSEMBLY James D. Weeks, Shreveport, La. Application April 29, 1955, Serial No. 504,841

4 Claims. (Cl. 20-575) This invention relates to metal awnings, and more particularly, to a means for assembling a plurality of metallic, transversely flexible awning strips with an associated support frame, without requirement for the screws and equivalent fastener elements presently employed.

Most usually, the attachment of metal awning strips to an associated support frame is accomplished by the extension of screws or other fasteners through said strips into the associated portions of the frame. Obviously, this involves considerable expense in the fabrication of metal awnings, in view of the undesirably extended length of time involved in the attachment of a substantial number of strips to the support frame by the use of an even greater number of screws or bolts, each of which must be separately inserted and tightened by the assembler.

In view of the above, the broad object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved metal awning wherein the frame is die stamped to include means fixedly and securely retaining the metal strips, without necessity of employing any other fastener elements. In this way, it is proposed to reduce to a marked degree the overall cost of manufacture of the awning, thus to correspondingly permit reduction in the cost thereof so far as the ultimate purchaser is concerned.

Another object of the invention is to achieve the above stated desirable end without reduction in the overall strength, durability, and shielding efliciency. of the awnmg.

Yet another object is to so design the frame-carried, strip-engaging means as to permit the strips of the awning to be attached thereto without requirement of any tools, and with maximum ease and facility.

Yet another object is to provide a metal awning construction wherein the strips, by reason of an inherent springiness thereof in a transversse direction, will lock themselves into the strip-engaging means of the frame, in such a manner as to exert a continuous, strong pressure along opposite edges of the strip against said means, that will insure against the strips becoming loose, or slipping out of their assigned places along the assembly.

A further object of considerable importance is to provide a metal awning as stated wherein the construction will be such as to facilitate the manufacture of both the frame and the strips at a minimum of cost, through the use of metal-working machinery of conventional construction.

Summarized briefly, the invention includes a support frame of unitary construction, which is preassembled prior to attachment of the strips thereto. 'The frame members are die stamped during the manufacture thereof to include outwardly struck ears formed outv of the material of said members, with said ears being arranged in pairs in which the ears of a pair confront one another to provide means engaging opposite sides of a transversely flexed, resilient metal strip extending therebetween.

ice

The invention, further, encompasses the formation of the frame members from sheet metal material, machine stamped and bent into a tubular form, thus to impart considerable strength to the frame members without the sacrifice of lightness and durability. Still further, the frame members are so stamped as to provide said ears on opposite faces of each frame member, so that there will be strips underlying the frame member and strips overlying the same. The ear on the opposite faces of the frame members are so arranged as to be disposed in staggered, overlapping pairs, that is, the ears are so arranged that the strips at one side of the frame member will be overlapped with strips on the other side of the frame member, thus to provide a full shielding action, that will incorporate in the awning a highly desirable elliciency as regards the shielding of an associated window, store front, or the like, from the sun, rain, etc.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an assembled awning formed according to 'the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective. view of the awning frame per se;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the awning frame members.

At 10 there has been generally designated an awning frame. This is preformed prior to assembly of the same with the several strips of the awning assembly, and is fashioned wholly from metallic frame members integrally or otherwise fixedly secured to one another in. any selected arrangement found desirable for fashioning; a particularly sized and shaped awning. The frame members are each formed from a single piece of sheet metal, acted upon by suitable metal-working and stamping machinery in such a manner as to be given, in the preferred example illustrated, a tubular construction in which the frame member is of rectangular cross section as shown in Figure 4, so as to dispose in opposite sides of the frame member relatively wide, flat, strip-engaging walls.

In the illustrated example, the awning frame includes a side frame 12, composed throughout of frame members formed as previously described herein, and said side frame is of approximately right-triangular formation, al-

though this particular shape is not critical to the invention. In the illustrated example, the side frame, of which there would be one at each end of the awning, includes a vertically disposed back frame member, integral or otherwise made rigid at its lower end with vertically spaced, horizontally disposed, forwardly projecting bottom frame members 14, 16. Connected to the forward member 14 and to the upper end of the back frame member is an inclined frame member 18.

Fixedly secured at this opposite ends to the respective side frames are longitudinal frame members 20. There can be any number of these, according to the size of the awning and the strength to be imparted thereto. It is, in fact, an important characteristic of the invention that considerable versatility resides in the construction as regards the use of any number of frame members without necessity of changing the construction of the strips to be employed therewith. This is achieved clue to the fact that the strips can be engaged at any location along the members.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4 to particular advantage, each frame member is formed of a single piece of material and struck outwardly from the material of the wide, strip-engaging, opposed, flat Walls of each frame memher are ears 22 of arcuate outline. The ears project out of the planes of their associated walls and are inclined obliquely to said planes. The ears are disposed in pairs, and at the end of the frame member there is an inwardly turned car 24 which is an integral extension of the frame member and is bent back over the face of the frame member as shown in Figure 4.

One of the ears 22 confronts the end ear 24 as shown in Figure 2, while the remining ears are disposed in pairs in which the ears of each pair confront one another across a relatively wide space defined therebetween, thus to permit the ears of each pair to confine between them a transversely flexed, resilient metallic strip 26.

The cars 22 are formed on what may be appropriately termed the outer side Walls of the frame members, and formed on the inner walls of said frame members are similar ears 28. The ears 28, however, while being arranged in pairs in the same manner as cars 22, are so disposed that the pairs of cars 28 are staggered and overlapped, in a direction longitudinally of the frame member, with the pairs of ears 22. This is shown to particular advantage in Figure 2, and it will be observed that the construction is one wherein the outer strips 26, when assembled with the frame, are overlapped with the inner strips 30 engaged between the cars 28.

As a result, maximum eflic-iency is achieved as regards the shielding characteristics of the awning, and it is to be noted that the awning can be assembled in a minimum amount of time, without requiring special tools or any fastener elements. All that need be done is to transversely flex each metallic strip sufliciently to permit the same to be inserted between the ears that are to engage them, after which the strip is released. This will cause the strip to expand in a transverse direction, thus to engage along the top of the side edges tightly in the ears provided therefor. At the same time, the strips are retained in a transversely arched condition, in which condition the strips are bowed outwardly from the associate-d frame members, and therefore, the inherent spring tension of the strips will continue to assert itself throughout the life of the awning. At the same time, the transverse curvature of the strips aids in the shedding of rain or the like, and additionally, imparts a highly attractive appearance to the finished awning.

Obviously, the main advantage of the awning resides in the simplicity of the assembling operation, deriving wholly from the preforming of the frame with outwardly struck ears in the manner referred to, used in association with transversely flexed, resilient, precut strips. The arrangement is one which reduces to such a marked degree the cost of assembly, and simplifies the assembly to such an extent, as to even permit the awning to be sold in a knocked-down condition to householders for assembly by them at a large saving.

It is believed apparent that the invention is notnecessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be each pair being flat and lying substantially in planes that are at a small acute angle to the planes of the surfaces from which the ears are struck and that intersect the latter planes along lines normal to the length of the frame member, the angles formed between the member and the ears of each pair defining narrow, wedge-shaped spaces opening toward each other; and transversely flexible, resilient slats having their lengths normal to the length of the frame member, each slat being resiliently bowed transversely thereof outwardly from the frame member with the opposite longitudinal edges of the slat engaged in said spaces, the ears of each pair overlying the slat en- 'gaged thereby, in flatwise contact with the slat over substantially the full area of the ears.

2. In a frame-and-slat assembly for a ventilated awning, a frame member formed with flat opposite surfaces, said member including ears struck outwardly from said surfaces out of the material of the member, the ears struck from each surface being arranged in pairs with the ears of each pair confronting each other, the ears of each pair being flat and lying substantially in planes that are at a small acute angle to the planes of the surfaces from which the ears are struck and that intersect the latter planes along lines normal to the length of the frame member, the angles formed between the member and the ears of each pair defining narrow, wedge-shaped spaces opening toward each other; and transversely flexible, resilient slats having their lengths normal to the length of the frame member, each slat being resiliently bowed transversely thereof outwardly from the frame member with the opposite longitudinal edges of the slat engaged in said spaces, the ears of each pair overlying the slat engaged thereby, in flatwise contact with the slat over sub stantially the full area of the ears, the pairs struck outwardly from one surface being staggered longitudinally of the frame member in respect to the pairs struck outward- 'ly from the opposite surfaces.

3. In a frame-and-slat assembly for a ventilated awning, a frame member formed with flat opposite surfaces, said member including ears struck outwardly from said surfaces out of the material of the member, the ears struck from each surface being arranged in pairs with the ears of each pair confronting each other, the ears of each pair being flat and lying substantially in planes that are at a small acute angle to the planes of the surfaces from which the ears are struck and that intersect the latter planes along lines normal to the length of the frame member, the angles formed between the member and the ears of each pair defining narrow, wedge-shaped spaces opening toward each other; and transversely flexible, resilient slats having their lengths normal to the length of the frame member, each slat being resiliently bowed transversely thereof outwardly from the frame member with the opposite longitudinal edges of the slat engaged in said spaces, the ears of each pair overlying the slat engaged thereby, in flatwise contact with the slat over substantially the full area of the ears, the pairs struck outwardly from one surface being staggered longitudinally of the frame member in respect to the pairs struck outwardly from the opposite surfaces, the slats of one surface overlapping the slats of the opposite surface.

4. In a frame-and-slat assembly for a ventilated awning, a frame member formed with flat opposite surfaces, said member including ears struck outwardly from said surfaces out of the material of the member, the ears struck from each surface being arranged in pairs with the ears of each pair confronting each other, the ears of each pair being flat and lying substantially in planes that are at a small acute angle to the planes of the surfaces from which the ears are struck-and that intersect the latter planes along lines normal to the length of the frame member, the angles formed between the member and the ears of each .pair defining narrow wedge-shaped spaces opening toward each other; and transversely flexible, resilient slats having their lengths normal to the length of the frame member, each slat being resiliently References Cited in the file of this patent bowel trangzetiilsely thereof1 outrvalrdly 30m tlflethfraiine UNITED STATES PATENTS mem er W1 e opposl e o11g1 u lna e ges 0 e s a engaged in said spaces, the ears of each pair overlying Re'21O53 Matthews 1939 the slat engaged thereby, in flatwise contact with the slat 5 81 Comm? 1919 Over substantially the full area of the ears, the pairs 2083681 Baldwm June 1937 struck outwardly from one surface being staggered longi- 25,79,064 Carlson 1951 tudinally of the frame member in respect to the pairs 26O7089 rclark 1952 struck outwardly from the opposite surfaces, the slats of 2619691 Bottom 1952 one surface overlapping the slats of the opposite surface, 10 2657437 Moser 1953 the frame member being formed at its respectiveends v Pratt 1954 with integral, reversely bent extensions on its opposite 2682689 July 1954 surfaces forming ears confronting the next adjacent ear 2'7O9841 Knabeschuh June 1955 of the surfaces to engage slats at the extremities of the member. 15 

